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Entanglement Team Makes Whales Smile

Marine Life Studies Make a Whale Smile Campaign November 2014 – February 27, 2015
As we watch the last of the entangling lines slip off the whale, we are struck with the realization that we just relieved suffering and probably saved the life of this innocent creature. It is particularly gratifying when a humpback whale we disentangled is re-sighted actively feeding, doing well, and recovering from its severe injuries. 

Twenty to 80% of large whales show signs of entanglement in fishing gear or marine debris. A lucky few throw the gear or are disentangled by trained and permitted rescue teams. For every entangled whale reported there are many more that go unreported, struggling unnoticed and suffering or even dying from damage to fins and flukes.…

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New book captures grace and intelligence of whales

Bryant Austin creates the world’s only high-resolution, life-size photographs of whales. A photographer and marine mammal conservationist, Austin is passionate about exploring and creating connections between humanity and whales – what he calls “the greatest minds in the water.”
Austin’s just-released book, Beautiful Whale, catalogs his quest to “recreate the transcendent sensation one experiences floating an arm’s length away from the eye of an inquisitive whale.” This 124 page, 12 x 15 inch coffee table book published by Abrams features exquisite life-size (or “whale-scale”) photos of whales’ eyes, numerous full-body photo mosaics reproduced as 1:6 scale fold-out pages, and a foreword from Dr. Sylvia Earle.
Austin first became inspired to create full-body images of whales at sea during a dive in 2004 when, floating motionless in the water, he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder from a 45-ton female humpback whale.…

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